Congress - 45 seats/leads: Has Rahul Gandhi managed to destroy the grand old party of India nurtured by his family?

Congress party's performance, along with its allies, has been dismal throughout the country. Almost all the senior leaders and union cabinet ministers have lost, barring a few.

Narendra Modi swept the entire western belt by bagging some 120 out of the 130 seats in Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. The people of Gujarat have given a unique gift to their son of the soil by putting all the 26 seats in his kitty -- a feat achieved for the first time by any political party since Independence.

However, the outcome of the 16th general elections has surely not come as a surprise to the leaders of the Indian National Congress. The success of Narendra Modi, BJP’s prime ministerial candidate and now the soon to be former chief minister of Gujarat, along with being known as a progressive leader, can be traced to the fact that India’s heart was set to vote the Congress out more than voting the BJP in. Read more

Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in fact accepted responsibility for the Congress' worst-ever defeat in the Lok Sabha elections but made it clear the party will continue to fight for social harmony and issues of national interest.

Rahul Gandhi has however emerged victorious in his family’s home turf Amethi however by a margin of 70,000 votes, a shameful display in comparison to his 2009 win by approximately a 3.7 lakh margin. Rahul Gandhi has not only been the butt of an entire nation’s jokes but also was constantly prodded by the BJP’s PM candidate Narendra Modi who referred to him continually as ‘Shehzaada’.

The finale arrived in the form of a press interview where he and Gandhi matriarch Sonia Gandhi took full responsibility for the Congress’ loss and admitting humbly their respect for the will of the nation. She even further went on to say that the mandate was against their party and that they congratulated the BJP on their victory. A statement that does pose a contradiction to the previous days where the Congress openly accused the BJP of divisive politics. The two didn’t take an questions after the statement.

* After disastrous defeat, Congress admits disconnect with people. Finding it hard to digest the humiliating defeat, a rattled Congress on Friday admitted a disconnect with the people and said the party needs to introspect and rework its strategy. Senior leaders conceded that they were not expecting such a big downfall. Read More

* Congress wins both seats in Manipur.

* President Pranab Mukherjee's son Abhijit Mukherjee wins from Jangipur. Read More

* Rahul Gandhi retains his Amethi seat, beats out Smriti Irani, wins by a margin of about 70,000 votes.

* While May 16 has not been a good day for the Indian National Congress, there are a few key leaders who have continued to secure their seat in the Lok Sabha. Shashi Tharoor—the Indian National Congress candidate, has successfully won his Thiruvananthapuram seat in Kerala. While Bharatiya Janata Party did not secure enough seats in Kerala, his rival Rajagopal gave him a though fight. Shashi Tharoor posted on socia media account on Twitter, his humble act of calling Rajagopal up and thanking him for a tough fight. He also accepted that it was time the Congress put up a good opposition. Read More

* 'Mr modi sold a dream to people of getting Jupiter and mars for them and people accepted it. We respect people's decision. Not only rahul but all of us are accepting the responsibility of what happened. Some political decisions including andhra Pradesh bifurcation may have gone wrong. It seems some decisions bounced back' Rajiv Shukla of the Congress Party.

* Kerala on Friday morning seems to be the only state that is not influenced by the Narendra Modi propaganda. Kerala shows a clear lead of Indian National Congress with lead in 8 seats, the only good news this morning the party has managed to gain. Only one seat to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M)with 4 seats, Indian Union Muslim League with 2 seats. Kerala Congress (M) and Revolutionary Socialist Party each having a lead in one seat. Read More.

* Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi to resign taking full responsibility for Congress defeat in state. Earlier, the outcome of the Parliamentary elections may cost Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi his job. Grim exit poll projections for Congress have emboldened a group of rebel Congress MLAs to intensify their demand for his ouster. Read More.

Rahul Gandhi’s leadership is not to be blamed if the outcome of elections are not in favour of Congress is what most Congress politicians reiterated even before the Exit Poll results were being declared by various news channels and analyst organisations.

“Rahul Gandhi is not in the government. He is the number two leader in the party. Sonia Gandhi is the president. Then, naturally there is local leadership. Whatever be the result, it will be a collective (responsibility),” said Shakeel Ahmed, the general secretary of AICC during release of Exit Poll results. Read More.

* With India headed for the results of one of its most publicised and heatedly debated elections, the Congress party, a faction of which has almost always ruled the nation right from independence onward, it seems that they might suffer their most crushing defeat in years, on their home turf Amethi. Read More.

Despite poor performance on most exit poll surveys following the Lok Sabha elections, the ruling Indian National Congress party has not given up hope. Top Congress leaders remain determined and continue to work on their next move.

Congress leaders have also said if secular parties consolidate, they will conceded the post of prime minister to regional players, most likely to Mamata Banerjee. The idea came from senior Congress leader Rashid Alvi, saying, "It may be difficult for us to form the government, but all secular forces should come together to keep Narendra Modi away from power." He suggested that regional parties elect Mamata, who is secular, competent and honest beyond doubt, as their leader. Read More

Keeping in mind that the Hindu-Muslim divide has become apparent in voting preferences across India as per surveys, Rahul Gandhi's message would be aimed at projecting the Congress as the custodian of the ideology of secularism and inclusiveness and the only fighting force to take on the ideology of extreme right and religious fundamentalism. According to surveys, the BJP has got 47% votes in Hindi speaking areas, while in the rest of India, it is still just 24%. The Congress has got 18% votes in Hindi speaking areas and 28% in rest of India. Read more here

In terms alliances, there is also a talk an "enlarged" UPA-III to stop Narendra Modi from coming to power. The idea of an "enlarged" UPA-III means taking on board new allies and keeping open the issue of leadership to stop Modi from becoming prime minister.

Another Congress leader, Rashid Alvi stated that all regional secular parties should join hands and elect Mamata Banerjee as their leader. Rashid Alvi in a statement said that all regional secular parties should join hands and elect Mamata Banerjee as their leader. She is, as Alvi suggested secular, competent and honest beyond doubt.